Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)

While on vacation, a just-divorced writer buys a villa in Tuscany on a whim, hoping it will be the start of a change for the better in her life.

Director:

Audrey Wells

Writers:

Frances Mayes (book), Audrey Wells (screen story),

Stars:

Diane Lane, Sandra Oh, Lindsay Duncan

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Diane Lane	...	Frances
Sandra Oh	...	Patti
Lindsay Duncan	...	Katherine
Raoul Bova	...	Marcello
Vincent Riotta	...	Martini
Mario Monicelli	...	Old Man with Flowers
Roberto Nobile	...	Placido
Anita Zagaria	...	Fiorella
Evelina Gori	...	Nona Cardinale
Giulia Steigerwalt	...	Chiara
Pawel Szajda	...	Pawel
Valentine Pelka	...	Jerzy
Sasa Vulicevic	...	Zbignew
Massimo Sarchielli	...	Nino
Claudia Gerini	...	Signora Raguzzi

Storyline

After Frances's seemingly happy San Francisco marriage ends abruptly, she goes into a funk. Urged by her friends to move on, she joins a bus tour of Tuscany where, on the spur of the moment, she buys a crumbling villa. She assembles a crew of oddballs and immigrants to repair the house; over the next year, as they work, she welcomes one of her San Francisco friends who's pregnant and at loose ends, and she seeks love, first (tenuously) with her married real estate agent, then with a charming stranger. Although life gets in the way of love, Frances's wishes come true in unexpected ways, and there's always the Tuscan sun.

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Plot Keywords:

writer | love | villa | divorce | house | 

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Taglines:

Life offers you a thousand chances ... all you have to do is take one.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language

Details

Country:

USA Italy

Language:

English Italian Polish French Spanish German

Release Date:

26 September 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bajo el sol de Toscana

Filming Locations:

Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£203,634 (UK) (26 March 2004)

Gross:

£440,167 (UK) (2 April 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Timnick Films, Blue Gardenia Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The elderly owner of Bramasole, grateful for a sign that Frances is the "right" buyer, cries out, "Grazie, Santo Francesco!" when a bird defecates on Frances's head. "Santo Francesco" is Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals.

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Goofs

Near the end of the movie, as a voiceover speaks of the Semmering Pass railway from Austria to Italy, we are shown a train of the Rhätische Bahn (or Rhaetian Railway). Except for a very short section in Italy, the RhB operates only in Switzerland; it's nowhere near the Semmering Pass.

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Quotes

Frances: This is really bad, isn't it?
Patti: Well, it's not good. Unless you want to give your ass a facial.
Frances: That's a contradiction in terms.
Patti: i guess it would be more like an Ass-cail

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Connections

Featured in The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards (2004)

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Soundtracks

"I've Never Been in Love Before"
Written by Frank Loesser
Performed by Alan Broadbent (as The Alan Broadbent Trio)
Courtesy of Concord Records

User Reviews

I Really Loved This Film

So, I've heard this film got the beating because it wasn't like the book? Ah, well, trust me; I'm a huge book-lover (and Harry Potter fan), so I can say that if I had read the book and was an immense fan, I probably wouldn't have liked the film if it had taken the basis out of the original story. I truly sympathize with those of you who disliked this film because it did not go with the book in some way or another. ;)

Although, since I love writing myself, I have a very wonderful relationship with this film and its delicious scenery, how the characters in it build in confidence, and the whimsical things that seem to be thrown in it artfully. Yes, there are some so-called "cliches", which is a word I hate using. We use that word to describe things that happen every day in our life, things that repeat themselves in storybooks and films and are heard so often that we are likely to vomit with expectancy of it all. But the thing that hit me about this film is that a lot of things happen that you really don't expect. The coming-of-age story has been told for ages, and will be expressed forever, with all its little tidbits of similar goings-on (serious situation happens, main character finds escape, love, broken heart, confusion..etc.). I don't think an entire genre of literature can deny its existence, now, can it? :)

The acting is superb, and it has a lot of light-hearted moments that lift it up. It's basically about accepting yourself before you can truly find "Mr.Right", and realizing that you shouldn't put the blame on yourself for every single thing in your life that happens, and about taking chances because life can have pros and cons. I even think that some men would like it. This film was very inspiring to me, and although I didn't see it in theaters, I left my couch feeling very creative and content, as if I wasn't the only one who got inspiration from the little things life seems to hand out.